| Sue Richards |  The Doctor Doom I remember might be ruthless and cold -- But he had honor and nobility too. Instead I encounter posturing and pettiness -- And perhaps a man a little afraid  |
| Von Doom | Hold Susan Richards! Many demons rule Victor Von Doom -- But not those of pettiness and fear! Very well. I am with you! |
Appearing in "The Alien, the Ally, and -- Armageddon!"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Villains:
Other Characters:
- ⏴ Agatha Harkness ⏵
- ⏴ Franklin Richards ⏵
- ⏴ Edwin Jarvis ⏵
- ⏴ Watcher ⏵
- ⏴ Collins ⏵
- Captain America (Image)
- Thor (Image)
- Daredevil (Image)
- Iron Man (Image)
- Silver Surfer (Image)
- Spider-Man (Image)
- Sub-Mariner (Image)
- Hulk (Image)
Locations:
Items:
Vehicles:
Synopsis for "The Alien, the Ally, and -- Armageddon!"
The remaining member of the Fantastic Four are reeling after the their battle with their leader Mister Fantastic, who is now in the thrall of the Over-Mind. While trying to figure out what to do next, they are interrupted by an alarm from one of Reed's machines. They quickly realize it was a machine Reed had slipped through to escape them. Upon examination they learn that it would have bombarded their leader with enough radiation that would allow them to track him. With a tracking device, Johnny and Ben head outside of the Baxter Building but are barred by an angry mob led by their landlord, Walter Collins. Collins has brought the authorities and demanded that they arrest the Fantastic Four for refusing to vacate the premises after his failed attempts to evict them. Fed up and with no time to waste, Johnny sends the crowd fleeing with his flame powers and Ben leaves the cantankerous Mr. Collins suspended from a bent over sign post. Continuing their search, Ben and Johnny are taken into the New York City sewers on their way to find Reed and the Over-Mind.
At the junk yard that serves as the Over-Mind's hideout, the alien finds that Reed Richards is resisting his attempts to mentally control him. As the Over-Mind increases his influence, Reed tries to keep his enemy out of his mind by reciting complex equations. When this becomes too difficult, he attempts to focus his mind on his wife and child. Before he can re-establish full control over Reed, the Over-Mind is attacked by the Thing and Human Torch who have just arrived on the scene. Seeing this battle on a view screen at the Baxter Building, Sue rushes to their aid on a one person craft and tries to lend a hand in battle. All is lost when Ben and Johnny are defeated in combat and Reed is once more taken under the Over-Mind's control. Unwilling to fight her own husband, Sue then flees the scene to find allies that she hopes will assist her in saving the world. Her first stop is Avengers Mansion where she learns from Jarvis the butler that the Avengers are busy on another mission. [1]
Part 2: Now Falls the Final Hour!
Searching the city of New York for other heroes who could help fight the Over-Mind, Sue can locate none of the Fantastic Four's previous allies. Feeling that all hope is lost, Sue lands her ship to lament over the situation. She is suddenly contacted by a mystical projection of Agatha Harkness and her son Franklin. Agatha tells Sue that there is only one person who can help Sue save the world. Sue is shocked when the old witch conjurers up the image of the Fantastic Four's old foe Doctor Doom. With no other options left, Sue flies to the Latverian embassy. When the guards refuse to let her in, Sue crashes through a window and confronts Doom directly. Initially, the Doctor refuses to help, as he enjoys seeing his greatest enemies brought low. However, when Sue reminds him that the Over-Mind intends to take over the entire world, she suggests that he is afraid of facing the Over-Mind, finally convinces Doom to get involved. Doctor Doom then orders Sue to take him to the Baxter Building and Reed's lab.
Back in the junk yard, Johnny and Ben have been defeated by the Over-Mind and Mister Fantastic. The invader then leaves with Reed to enthrall others in the city still not under his control. Ben and Johnny are then revived by Doctor Doom, and they almost come to blows when Sue stops them to explain their uneasy alliance. They track down the Over-Mind as he and Reed are rounding up people to be enslaved. When the Fantastic Four and Doom attack, the Over-Mind attempts to use his mental powers, but has then redirected back to him by Doom's psionic-refractor device. Although this device initially manages to stagger the Over-Mind, the alien catches Doom off guard and bombards him with mental attacks and eventually over loads the device. With Johnny and Ben down for the count as well, and Sue being subdued by her husband, it appears that the Over-Mind will finally succeed in his quest to conquer the Earth. But the Over-Mind is suddenly shocked when the cosmic being known as the Stranger suddenly appears before him.
Meanwhile, Sue continues to struggle with her mind-controlled husband, who continues to over power her. As he begins to squeeze the life out of her, Sue tries to remind Reed of their child, and the thoughts of Franklin cause Reed to fight free of the Over-Mind's control. Meanwhile, the Strange and the Over-Mind begin to clash. The Stranger tells the Over-Mind that he was created by the people of Gigantus to counteract his threat. Unwilling to believe this, the Over-Mind is no match for the Stranger anyway, and is soon shrunken down to the Microverse where he can be a threat to nobody. The Stranger then departs from Earth, returning to the stars from which he came. As the Fantastic Four recover from the battle, Doctor Doom departs from them, telling them that when they meet again it will be as enemies once more. Johnny is upset that they were unable to defeat the Over-Mind without the intervention of the Stranger, who could have done the job anytime he wanted and storms off. The rest of the Fantastic Four are then visited by the Watcher, who explains to them that because they interfered with the Over-Mind's plans for global domination, the Stranger would not have been able to detect the Over-Mind's presence until he had taken over many worlds.
Solicit Synopsis
Notes
Continuity Notes
- Members of the Fantastic Four get involved in other stories following this issue, as follows:
- The most prolific being Mister Fantastic, who makes some brief cameo appearances in Avengers #92 and 94 during the Kree-Skrull War. Following this war, he would join with Iron Man, the Sub-Mariner, Doctor Strange, Black Bolt and Professor X to form the Illuminati as depicted in New Avengers: Illuminati #1.
- The Thing also makes some brief cameo appearances in Avengers #92 and 94.
- The Human Torch next appears in Marvel Team-Up #2 where he and Spider-Man defend the Baxter Building from the Frightful Four.
- Walter Collins is at it again this issue, continuing his efforts to evict the Fantastic Four from Fantastic Four #114. He tries again in Fantastic Four #120.
- Jarvis the Bulter appears here between his appearances in Avengers #90 and Avengers #92. He states that the Avengers are away on a mission in this story, which is putting it mildly. At the time of this story, Earth's mightiest heroes were caught in the middle of the Kree-Skrull War which happened between Avengers #89-97. The Fantastic Four and the Avengers last worked together in Fantastic Four: World's Greatest Comics Magazine #11-12 when they battled a cosmic powered Doctor Doom.
- As a form of narrative pacing, the splash page for part two of this story features the visages of the various heroes that Sue went to look for to help battle the Over-Mind, but to no avail. Here is what the characters she was looking for where doing at the time of this story:
- As stated above, Captain America, Iron Man, and Thor, were with the Avengers and involved in the Kree-Skrull War.
- The Hulk last encountered the Fantastic Four in Fantastic Four #112-113 where he battled the Thing and slinked away. At the time of this story, the Hulk was battling the Horusians in Egypt, as depicted in Incredible Hulk #145.
- Daredevil last worked with the Fantastic Four in Fantastic Four: World's Greatest Comics Magazine #3 when he helped the Fantastic Four and other heroes stop an attack on New York by a pair of Sentinels. At the time if this story he and the Black Widow were busy battling the Owl as seen in Daredevil #80-81.
- The Silver Surfer last worked with the Fantastic Four in Fantastic Four: World's Greatest Comics Magazine #11-12 against Doctor Doom as well. The Surfer last appeared in Sub-Mariner #34-35 when he joined the Hulk and Sub-Mariner in forming the Titans Three. His activities during this story cannot be easily determined, but he appears next in Marvel Feature #1 when he forms the Defenders with the Hulk, Namor, and Doctor Strange.
- On the same token, the Sub-Mariner was last seen working with the FF in Fantastic Four: World's Greatest Comics Magazine #11-12 as well. During the time of this story Namor was in a long running battle against a cultist named Tuval from Sub-Mariner #41 to 43.
- Spider-Man has not worked with the team in a while back in Fantastic Four: World's Greatest Comics Magazine #3 against the Sentinels. He was most recently seen in the pages of a FF comic in Fantastic Four #111. He had most recently worked with the Human Torch against the Sandman in Marvel Team-Up #1. At the time of this story, Spider-Man was pre-occupied trying to cure himself of having six arms after a botched attempt to remove his powers caused him to grow four extra limbs. This occurred between Amazing Spider-Man #100-102.
- Doctor Doom last clashed with the Fantastic Four during Fantastic Four: World's Greatest Comics Magazine #1-12 where he briefly stole the power of Galactus until he was defeated by the Fantastic Four. He does not recall this battle as it was wiped from his mind at the end of that series. Prior to this story, Doom was actively trying to rescue the soul of his mother from the devil in Astonishing Tales #8. He next appears in Sub-Mariner #47-Sub-Mariner #49 where he fails to manipulate an amnesic Sub-Mariner into stealing the Cosmic Cube from AIM.
- The Stranger makes his appearance here between Thor #178 when the Abonination attempted to trick Thor from freeing him from the Stranger's world and Captain Marvel #42 wherein he battles Captain Marvel.
- In this story the Stranger claims to have been created by the Gigantians as a counter force to the Over-Mind. However as Quasar #16 reveals, the Gigantians did create a being to counteract the Over-Mind, but it was not the Stranger. The Stranger found the creature and accidentally killed it before it could carry out its intended purpose, and decided to adopt it as his own. The All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe #11 including an entry about the Stranger remains careful about the fact he is or not that being.
- The Stranger states that he has trapped the Over-Mind in the Microverse on a "lifeless mote of dust". At the time it was believed that the Microverse existed within the atoms of the universe. However as per Fantastic Four #282 it was revealed that the Microverse was not a microscopic realm but a parallel universe and when one shrinks down small enough they breach the barrier between dimensions.
- The Over-Mind remained trapped in the Microverse until he was enthralled by Null the Living Darkness and brought to Earth-712 to enthrall that world's version of Earth, as seen in a flashback in Defenders #114. The Over-Mind later battled the Defenders and the Squadron Supreme on that world between Defenders #112-115.
Publication Notes
- This issue is a 25 Cent Giant Size Editon. At the end of this issue on the Fantastic Four Fan Page, the Bullpen explains that starting with this month all Marvel comics are increasing in size from 36 pages to 52 pages and increasing in price from 15 cents to 25 cents. However, despite this announcement, starting with the following month, Marvel comics go back to their regular size, but with a 20 cent cover price.
- This issue features a letters page, Fantastic Four Fan Page. Letters are published from Tom Steinke, Joel Pollack, Sgt. Michael L. Kuhne, Bob Rozakix and G.B. Tiebe.
- As seen on page one, this issue is Story#729-Z.
Trivia
- Beginning this issue, the Thing appears at the left side of the title. This title lay-out runs up to Fantastic Four #159, with the exception of Fantastic Four #141, Fantastic Four #144, and Fantastic Four #152, where Human Torch replaces the Thing.
